Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art
Ravaged by grief, she saw you standing right there, but did not recognize you. She was living in Friday, That traumatic Friday. But it’s Sunday now, And there you stand, In front of Mary. It’s a … [Continue reading]
Wheat must be crushed to become bread And bread broken to be eaten. The chrysalis crumble for the butterfly, The egg splinter for the chicken. And sheets of coloured glass Must be shattered To become stained … [Continue reading]
Joseph had a rarefied spiritual gift: God spoke to him through his dreams, and he could interpret the dreams of others. In the night, which belongs to the Lord, he sees his sheaf stand upright while his brother’s sheaves bow to it. He sees the sun … [Continue reading]
Rick Warren, of the wildly successful Saddleback Church, was influenced by Donald McGavran, maverick church planter, who suggested church planters use the kind of music people already listened to. The familiar music provides … [Continue reading]
In which I help dig a field for a community project When I am stressed, I go into scarcity mode. I just want to survive. I just want people to help me survive. I withdraw into my hard tortoise shell and want to stay there till the storm has … [Continue reading]
Stupa in the Killing Fields, commemorating the victims of the Khymer Rouge We wandered around the “Killing Fields” today, where thousands of the 3 million Cambodians who perished (out of a population of 8 million) were clubbed, hacked, or axed to … [Continue reading]
The spiritual value which runs though Scripture is not prosperity (though, in the Old Testament, those blessed by God are generally prosperous). It is shalom. Strong’s Concordance translates it as “wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, … [Continue reading]
One of my favourite Oxford walks is by the Thames from Iffley Lock to Folly Bridge. As it gets warmer, the river is crowded with school and college rowers. And, on the banks, an obnoxious man with a bullhorn cycles beside the perspiring rowers, … [Continue reading]